


A Golden Secret

by webcomix



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Bedside Vigils, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Pre-Calamity Ganon, an absolute fluff fest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:09:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21713533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/webcomix/pseuds/webcomix
Summary: After a close scare just outside Kara Kara Bazaar, Zelda watches over a prone Link and wrestles with the realisation that her strong feelings regarding him might not be as negative as she thought.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 251





	A Golden Secret

**Author's Note:**

> I asked for some Zelink prompts on tumblr about 2 months ago and got "forehead kisses" from @cottoncondor. I've also been on a steady diet of extremely fluffy romance novels this holiday season so here we go again! You will never stop me!!

Zelda watched the rise and fall of Link’s chest, which was bare but swathed in bandages. There had been blood seeping through the linen but not anymore. He seemed somewhat at peace now, eyes closed in what she hoped was rejuvenating sleep.

The sunlight streaked from the window above the bed, the only patch of brightness in the cooling darkness of the Inn’s thick stone walls. Zelda could hear the bustle of Kara Kara Bazaar outside. Out there, tourists in wide-brimmed hats haggled with merchants for slices of cooling hydromelon or peppery roasted drumsticks. The guards in their colourful armour patrolled the market’s borders, their spear tips glinting and eyes narrowed. Beyond them, dust rolled across the dunes to settle upon the few objects marring the desert landscape: spiky voltfruit cacti, jagged bones bleached by the sun, and the occasional seal furrow streaked across the sand.

That’s where Zelda had been just this morning. Link, too.

Now, they were here. And it was her fault.

***

They had arrived the previous evening. Dusk was beginning to fall with the sun already sitting upon the horizon and casting the desert in warm hues of gold and amber. The oasis shimmered and the palm fruit trees swayed gentle in the breeze. Zelda raised her Sheikah slate and preserved this enchanting image. It was her fourth one since they had discovered the rune, and she was eager to record many more.

Footfalls scuffled on the dry grass. Zelda felt her shoulders tense as Link came to stand next to her — but also a pace behind, as was appropriate. They were so close to Gerudo Town. She must be patient and tolerate him just a little longer. 

“Right,” she said, more forcefully than intended. “There must be a way to rent a sand seal around here. With one, I can be at Urbosa’s palace before it gets too late.”

He hesitated. Well, good. He had to know that she hated the way he spoke, always so soft and careful and low-pitched. What did he take her for, a wild horse who needed taming? She couldn’t wait to be rid of him.

Appallingly, Link decided to say something anyway. “With all due respect, Princess, it may be too late already.” He gestured to the market before them. It remained alive and humming even as the sky darkened above, but Zelda saw some of the vendors clearing up for the evening. They were tidying away their goods, rolling up mats and tying down bundles. A guard walked round the perimeter, lighting lanterns with a torch.

“Then we shouldn’t waste any more time,” she snapped, turning on her heel and striding into the crowds. Link followed.

Plenty of stalls were still open, hawking everything from spices to trinkets to fortune-telling services. Zelda already knew what would happen within her lifetime. A constant reminder of it was currently tight on her heels. Link managed to keep up even as she ducked and weaved through the throngs of people talking, drinking, arguing, and carrying loads of goods to trade across Hyrule. It was a busy night like every other in Kara Kara.

They made it to the low paddock in the southeast portion of the market just in time to see the Gerudo sealkeeper pull down her sign and lock the gate.

Zelda skidded to stop on the sand, causing Link to bump into her. She shoved him away, petty release for the childish rage built up in her limbs. Link made no response or retaliation, only stumbling backwards. He managed a single glance up through the hair fallen over his eyes. Zelda could almost hear his obnoxiously gentle voice uttering those horrible words: _I told you_. Angry adrenaline shot through her. She could have felled a palm fruit tree in a single kick.

She said not another word to him when marching back through the bazaar, reaching the Inn, and forced to purchase beds for the night. A private room for Zelda, one of the public bunks for Link. Again, not a single complaint from her toiling knight, how insufferably noble! She flew up the stairs to throw herself onto the soft mattress and muffle her screams of despair into the pillow. She hoped he would get brain freeze from the chilly fruitcake. 

When she opened her eyes, there were still stars twinkling over the silhouette of Gerudo Town through the window. Zelda peered at the Sheikah slate. It was 5 o’clock in the morning, an hour before Link usually awoke. This was her chance. She gathered her things in haste and hurried out of the Inn, not daring to look over at the sleeping travellers as she slipped away.

It seemed like 5 a.m. was before Kara Kara Bazaar awoke, too. Zelda circled the oasis in frustration as the tents around her were quiet and devoid of traffic. Even the food stalls only featured shopkeeps still rubbing their eyes as they did their morning prep. Zelda ignored them. She wanted to have breakfast with Urbosa upon the balconies of the palace with soft bread and safflina-spiced tea.

To her profound annoyance, the sand seal paddock remained shut and empty of staff. She brought out the Sheikah slate to check the time.

“Can I help you, Miss?”

Zelda turned. A merchant was watching her with great interest. His eyes darted to her hands when she reluctantly put the Sheikah slate away. The enormous false smile plastered to his face could only mean one thing: another sleazy sales pitch. Zelda only wished that the sealkeeper could be so proactive this time of day.

“No, thank you.” She turned and began walking away. Gerudo Town was perfectly visible at this distance. While walking would take longer, she believed she could still make it before Link could try to pin her down again.

“Oh, but it would be a mistake to turn down this offer!” The merchant kept on coming too close, forcing her to walk further and further away from the oasis. He even followed when she tried going behind a large rock formation so the sparkling water was out of sight. “I promise that you’ll remember it for the rest of your life.”

“Why is that?”

The merchant stopped and smirked at her. Zelda felt unease in her stomach which turned into full-blown terror when he pulled out a vicious-looking sickle from somewhere behind his back. “Because it will end very, very soon, Princess!”

With a wave of his hands, the merchant transformed into the dreaded black-and-red costume of the enemy Yiga Clan. He raised his weapon and lunged. Zelda cried out and scrambled aside. The sickle whistled as it swiped through the air towards her, and the sound finally fired up her brain and senses to _RUN!_

Zelda floundered along as fast as she could in the soft sand. But in just a few paces, two more Yiga slid into view, cutting her off from the rest of the dangerous open desert. Zelda spun around and fell over her own feet. She had no time to get back up and escape as the assassins closed in, taking taunting, slow, deliberate steps. 

The first Yiga raised his weapon in triumph. Zelda sucked in one last breath and closed her eyes.

A harsh shout. Tearing cloth. Metal scraping on metal, and the resounding weight of a body hitting the ground. Zelda’s eyes flew open. She gasped.

Link stood between her and the remaining Yiga. Never before had Zelda seen such ferocity and true anger — only concentration, solemnity, and deference — radiating from him. It was in his furrowed brow, his hardened jaw, even his wheat-coloured hair rippling in the desert wind. The Master Sword glared bright in the brilliant sun, and the other Yiga backed away before disappearing into puffs of red smoke when it was raised in their direction. 

Link only disengaged when they were truly gone. He lowered his sword and Zelda thought she caught a wince flickering across his face. But when he turned towards her there was only wide, blue-eyed concern. “Are you hurt?” he asked anxiously.

Zelda stared at him. She couldn't help it. The sickle had sliced clean through his tunic, but instead of hanging in tatters the fabric clung to Link’s exposed skin, glued there by the red suddenly blooming across bright blue. 

He didn’t seem to notice at all. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she managed to gasp. Link’s forehead smoothed, and he looked at her with such a strange, soft expression before keeling forward into the sand with the most awful-sounding _THUD_.

“Link!” Zelda heard her voice squeaking in panic as she pushed him over onto his back, but he was unresponsive. She stayed crouched by his unnervingly still form as the market guards finally rushed over to help, her body shaking, mind reeling, and heart locked into erratic flutters by the sudden understanding rushing through her.

***

Zelda watched him now, like she had been doing for the past two hours. The anxiety of remorse and guilt continued to eat away at her insides. The Master Sword, clean and resplendent in its everlasting glory, was now propped up against the end of the bed. Zelda wondered if she should place it somewhere else, then remembered the sword would only tolerate being handled by the hero. She bit her lip and looked at Link again. And that's what he was. A real hero. He had to be, diving between her and danger after the way she had treated him.

Shame swept over her, a wave so strong that tears sprang to her eyes. This wouldn’t have happened weren’t it for her pigheaded pride. Zelda was Link’s liege, and therefore responsible for whatever happened to him. She needed to apologise and also, mend that tunic. She glanced down to where it lay upon the floor in a soiled heap of rags. Perhaps it would be easier to remake the entire outfit again.

Zelda slowly stood up from the chair. The sun had shifted to streak across Link’s face, a stripe of buttery warmth over his still, symmetrical features. Her heart did a frightening flip as she noticed how long his lashes were. They tangled together where they met over his eyes. That same hair like perfectly ripe rice fanned out over her pillow. That tanned smooth skin accentuating every corner and curve of muscle. He was golden all over, like a— 

Zelda clapped her hands over her mouth. No! She couldn’t be thinking of him this way. It was no better than the giggling girls in nearly every inn and stable. Her cheeks burned behind her fingers. Now the thoughts had started, they couldn’t stop, bursting through a barrier she hadn’t known was raised. She despised herself.

What would she do when he finally opened his eyes? When he resumed his position at her back, always watching so silent and sure, never letting her out of his sight…? Zelda had dreaded Link’s gaze when she hated him, how was she going to withstand it now? Now that she knew that he paid her such rapt attention not only to follow her father’s command, but maybe because he… Oh Goddess, she couldn’t even bring herself to think it.

Zelda needed to leave. Her mind was all muddled and panicked with him just lying there. But even as she turned her shoulders towards the door, her head refused to go with them, still allowing the eyes to linger upon Link, out cold and blissfully unaware of her.

Before she lose her nerve, Zelda leaned over until her lips almost brushed the tip of his ear. “I…” She had to exhale shakily and start over. “I’m sorry, Link. I promise to do better. I’m so… you were… thank you.”

She couldn’t bring herself to even look at his mouth, unsmiling even in sleep. Zelda kissed him briefly on the forehead and fled without looking back.

It would be her secret. A small, golden secret.

* * *

When he was sure that the princess was well away from the room, Link opened his eyes. He stared at the drippy stucco ceiling above him, struggling to control his breathing and heartrate.

He was beginning to think he would never understand Princess Zelda. From the moment the King had pointed a gloved finger at his face and declared him a champion, Link had been running dizzy between breathless admiration and pure chagrin at his appointed princess. Their entire relationship was a whirlpool of the weirdest emotions, a constant bouncing between sympathy for her struggles and offence at her rudeness and disregard for simply doing his job. 

But then there would be a rare instance when she found a way to free herself, just for a while, from the crown. He would be privy to the adorable antics of just some girl with an unorthodox passion for ancient machinery. Link worked hard to keep this opinion hidden from the princess, lest he lose the privilege of seeing that side of her again.

That was who he was thinking of this morning when he had thrown himself in front of the blades of the Yiga. And who was looking back at him before everything went to black.

He wasn’t sure when he had come to, but the throbbing pain was enough to keep his eyes closed. Link didn’t even know that the princess was sitting by the bed until she sighed, and he completely froze.

He listened to the slide of fabric and creak of wood as she rose from the chair. He felt his skin cool when her shadow took over from the sun, smelled the familiar scent of her perfume now all too close to handle, and fought with all his will not to fidget from the tickle of her breath against his ear when she had sighed again. Link kept still and his brain screamed wordless confusion.

Her words had sounded so small and apologetic and genuine. They slipped through his ears down to his heart to squeeze it captive, and hadn’t let go yet.

And then…

Link finally allowed himself a shuddering, audible inhale as he replayed the memory of her lips on his skin, however brief and light. He was almost too bewildered to be happy about it.

He knew the princess would never speak of it. To her, this had never happened. But maybe the girl would think about it. Link hoped she would. This was all he would think about for probably the entirety of the day.

Link closed his eyes again, smiling as he relaxed into the sun-warmed mattress. 

It would be his secret. A small, golden secret.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Comix’s Guide To Writing the Fluffiest of Fluffies and Piniest of Pinings:_  
>  1) Good ol’ flashback to The Moment Everything Changed  
> 2) Agonised internal monologue à la your best YA rom coms  
> 3) Sensory detail sensory detail sensory detail **S E N S O R Y D E T A I L**
> 
> Thank you for reading!!


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